Death The Kidd: The Story of the Mini-Shinigami
by Ellen1804
Summary: Maka and Kidd test their combat abilities... On each other. Soul gets caught in crossfire, Black*Star finally realizes that he has a weakness... And a little demon wakes again.
1. Chapter 1

Outside a black storm raged as Black*Star once again tried infuriated another weather spirit. White flashes were seen as Tsubaki once again transformed to a weapon and powerful waves once again flowed on Maka's skin as she sensed the powerful soul resonance of her friends.

She drew the curtains. Black*Star will eventually defeat the storm and chase it away, but for the time being, going outside of the school was impossible. "Jeez, I know you're the most powerful meister student here but have some restraint. One of these days..."

Actually, now that she thought about, she couldn't even imagine Black*Star being defeated. "Sure won't do that titanic ego any good," she murmured.

"Maka, what are you doing at the window? Come help me!" Maka turned from the window abruptly and looked over to Soul, who was struggling to lift a large amount of books. As she watched, he wobbled and toppled over, books flying everywhere.

She ducked as one came flying her way. It hit the window, got repelled by the ProGlass (Protection Glass) that was enforced by Shinigami Kidd, who just got tired of replacing windows every time Black*Star jumped through them, so instead he got them spelled, and now Black*Star took great amusement in bouncing off of them.

She walked over to Soul and picked up all the books, stacking them on the table. "It isn't that heavy, Soul, you just gotta hold them right, see? Put them from biggest to smallest, all lined up in the center..."

Soul took another sorted stack of books from her and shoved them into a shelf. "I don't have any time to learn how to hold books right, Maka. I have to get this library sorted before tomorrow, damn Professor Stein."

"It's your fault for failing the last test."

"Whatever."

"Besides, it's howling outside. We wouldn't be able to go out if we tried. Might as well sleep here in the extra dormitories."

"Sure thing."

"There's only one left thought. We'll have to share."

"Yeah, yeah."

"Hey, Soul, watch out-"

Just as Soul slid his final book into the shelf, one very thick and very heavy book which was balancing perilously on the rim of a shelf finally lost to gravity, and landed...

Squarely on Soul's cranium.

He crumpled.

Maka picked up the book and opened it, giving no regard to Soul. "It says, Diary of a Shinigami, Death the Kidd."

Soul sat up, rubbing his head. "Aren't you gonna ask if I'm alright?"

Maka sat down next to him, pushing the book half on her lap and half on his, peering at the text. "Are you alright?" She asked absently.

"I'm fine, I'm used to getting hit on the head by a book, the book-chop performed by a certain person."

He looked down at Maka. She wasn't listening. "It's Kidd's diary."

Soul blinked. "Eh?"

"Yeah, see?" She pointed to the title of a page. "That was yesterday."

Soul flipped a few pages past that. The rest was blank. He flipped back. "No way, that guy can _write_? The last time I saw him he was intent on making every letter perfection. Since when did he have the time to write all this while he's taking over for his father while the Shinigami is recovering?"

(This is anime-based. In my world, the Shinigami is NOT DEAD, goddammit!)

Maka stared at the characters. "This is too perfect, actually... Soul, see those marks? How they don't really match up? He didn't write this by only his hands. He used stencils."

Soul stared at the paper. "Yeah, you're right."

He flipped back a few pages. "Hey, that was last week. You got the highest score- again. Beat him by a mile. Do you think he wrote about that?"

Maka stared at Soul. "Hey, this is private, we can't read this."

"You were the one that opened it."

"But..."

"It's not like it's anything personal... In fact..." Soul flipped a few pages around and then tossed the book over his shoulder. "The guy doesn't write about anything but symmetry!"

Maka raced to the other side of the room and caught the book in midair, but it slipped out of her fingers and landed on the library table. It flipped open to a page.

_Today, I was introduced to a very interesting person._

_Maka seems to like this person very much._

_Although I remember fighting this person, I must not say anything._

_Because, if I so much as speak ill of Crona, Maka will b__eat me up._

Maka closed the book. "Was I that protective?"

Soul looked up from a stack of books that had fallen when the diary had hit the floor. "Of whom?"

"Crona."

"Oh. Yeah, you were."

"Was I really?"

"Yeah. So much that nobody dared go near Crona."

"God, that must have been horrible!"

"No, I think Crona was fine with it."

"... Well, I think we should return this Kidd. He must have left this here by accident."

Maka was about to close the book when she spied another page. "... Soul..."

"Yeah?"

"This passage..."

"What about it? What does it say?"

"It was written a long time. The handwriting is a bit more normal. It says..."

_Today I met a tiny skinny girl in a orange dress._

_She was nice. _

_We played, but then I said that she wasn't symmetrical._

_She hit me with a picture book._

_It still hurts._

Maka looked up and glared at Soul, who was shaking in the corner, stifled laughs and fake coughs coming from his quivering body.

She flipped past a few pages, to the date she remembered so well...

_Maka got a weapon today._

_I wanted her to be my weapon, since she is symmetrical if she grew knives at the right places._

_But she wanted to be a meister._

_I have no right to stop her._

_I met the weapon._

_Soul Eater Evans._

_He's very crude. Droopy eyes. Sharp teeth._

_Not normal._

_Must find a weapon._

By then, Soul was next to Maka and was reading over her shoulder. "Droopy eyes? Sharp teeth, but crude? Since when was I crude?"

Maka slammed the book closed. "Whatever. Enough of this. You done?"

Soul blinked. "Huh?"

"With cleaning."

Maka and Soul looked around. "Yeah."

"Let's go. Our guest room is between Black*Star's and Kidd's anyways."

* * *

Kidd stared at the ceiling, feeling it's symmetrical carvings soothing his tangled feelings. He pictured what he would write into his diary tonight.

"Today the most horrible thing happened today."

"At the first day of school I promised to have a grade of 88 on every test."

"... But today, I got... An... *sob*... 87! I am a horrible, despicable, unsymmetrical person! I-"

_Knock knock._

Kidd sat up from his symmetrical stance on his bed. "Come in."

Maka peered through the doorway, Soul behind her and looked over her shoulder.

"Oh, Maka. Soul."

Maka nodded. "Mini-Shinigami, I think you left this in the library." She held up a thick leather-bound book that Kidd recognized with dreadful horror.

"My d-diary!" Kidd leaped off his bed and snatched it out of Maka's hands. "Did you read it? Did you look inside?"

Maka stared down to her feet. "Only the pages where... You met me and Soul."

Kidd looked deep into her eyes, not letting her escape them. Her soul pulsed. She was telling the truth. Kidd sighed with relief.

He nodded to Soul. "I'm glad you had the decency to not look further. Thank you."

He shut the door abruptly and didn't breathe until he heard the door next to his room open and the two of them walk in.

She didn't see what he had written right after he met her.

Kidd tossed his diary into his dresser and climbed back on his bed. He stared back up at the ceiling, but this time it did not calm him down.

"I'm over it... It doesn't matter anymore."

_The little girl's name is Maka._

_It is a weird name._

_She hit me with a book._

_She made my hair all mussed up._

_I'm not symmetrical anymore-_

_But I don't mind._

_Why don't I care__?_

* * *

Alright- that was the first chapter! The next one will be more from Kidd's point of view.

Thank you for reading!

Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

The breakfast chime ringed and echoed throughout the dorms.

Kidd opened his eyes and blinked. Sunlight was shining through the window. Black*Star's storm had gone and passed, all dried up and back to being fluffy white.

He sat up and folded his blanket into a neat rectangle.

He walked to the doors, smoothing down his suit. He had fallen asleep last night without taking it off. He looked at the doorknob, seeing his reflection.

Still small, uncertain, and still asymmetrical.

Kidd turned from the doorknob and ran his fingers compulsively through his hair, straightening his bangs. His eyes ran over his symmetric room until it realized something wrong. He looked up at his crooked diary, set down at approximately 67 degrees.

"Aargh! How could I not remember to set it straight?!" He picked it up and was about to set it in line with all his other books when he decided not to and flipped it open.

_My father is well on his way to recovering._

_I am really only Shinigami in name only._

_Dr. Stein and the other Death Scythes,_

_They do all the real work._

_I am not even Shinigami in name._

_They call me "Mini-Shinigami."_

_Even Maka calls me that._

_I don't mind not being the Shinigami._

_I do not like the responsibility._

_Today, Liz and Patty pulled me out of my room._

_They took me to-_

"Kidd, hurry up!" Liz knocked on the door. "You're going to be late, so stop worrying over your toilet paper! They don't need to be folded into triangles..."

Kidd opened the door. "I'm not worrying over whether or not I folded my toilet paper, although I _might've_ forgotten! Liz, did I really forget to fold..."

Liz smacked him on the side of his head. "Crap, I had to remind him. Snap out of it, Kidd! Maka's waiting for us in the cafe for breakfast. If you don't get there fast enough Black*Star and Patty would eat all the croissants!"

Liz transformed and flipped into Kidd's open hand. "Go!"

Kidd nodded. "Alright." He grabbed his skateboard from behind his door and expertly fired it up. He leaped on it just a split second after it flashed green and shot down the hallway. "I'll get you a croissant, Liz."

"With butter, too!"

"With butter."

* * *

Maka tapped her finger in a small beat on the cafe table. Next to her, Tsubaki was applying jam to a piece of toast. Across from her, Soul was staring into the menu.

Across from Tsubaki was Black*Star and Patty. Black*Star was dunking whole pieces of toast into a bowl of maple syrup and shoving large chunks into his mouth. As far as Maka could see with his relentless chewing, Black*Star no longer needed to breathe.

Patty was really no better. She was demolishing stacks of croissants by the handful, eating the cheeses and the butter that came with them with lightning speed, sucking them all up in one giant breath at a time as if they were weightless.

Maka poured milk into her coffee and dumped in sugar. She didn't drink what she had mixed together but instead took a croissant from Patty and buttered it calmly, getting ready for Liz's entrance.

Soul, meanwhile, looked as if his skull was cracking to pieces. "I didn't know that you could have so many different drinks. Should I get... Or maybe... No, this one..."

A shadow passed over everyone's heads. They all paused and looked up. Maka cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted up. "Kidd! Liz, you're here!"

Kidd's new extreme-speed setting on his skateboard was kicking up huge billows of wind. He turned it off and landed on the floor, tossing Liz to the table. Halfway there she transformed back into human form and landed right next to Patty.

Maka handed her a plate of buttered croissants and the sweetened cup of coffee. "Here. They might be a bit cold." Liz waved her hand, motioning that she didn't care if they were cold or not- at least they weren't in Patty's stomach.

Kidd sat down next to Maka in the space that she left when she scooted over to hand the plate to Liz. "I'll have a perfectly circular pancakes-" Maka pushed him a plate with a stack of them. "I ordered what you guys always get already. Although, Soul is a bit..."

Soul was still debating milkshake or mocha.

Maka threw a fork at him. It bounced off his forehead. "Just get both, already!"

Soul looked up. "Really? I thought your allowance was strained already."

Maka looked down. "I can get two drinks for you, Soul." She murmured to her lap. Soul looked at her for a long second. Then he raised his hand and waved a waitress over.

"I'll have the milkshake, please, just the milkshake."

Maka blinked. The waitress handed her the bill and Maka stared at the change she still had. "This is exactly enough for a shirt I pointed out to you on Saturday, Soul."

Sou sipped his milkshake, frothy whipped cream lining his upper lip. He bared his sharp teeth. "See how cool I am? A cool man always remembers what his friend want and put it first."

Maka stared blankly at him for a moment. Kidd stuffed bites of perfectly cut pancake bits into his mouth. "... Cool? I was thinking 'cute' Soul."

"It's cool, not cute, Maka! I'm _cool_, goddammit!"

* * *

Maka adjusted her scythe over her shoulder. "Soul is that good?"

"Yeah, yeah," he answered.

Tsubaki and Black*Star, after filling themselves up, set off to defeat another ruined soul, promising several days of peace at Shibusen.

Patty, Liz and Soul were in their weapon forms, Patty and Liz were in the side pockets of Kidd's backpack, and Soul was over Maka's shoulder. Kidds lengthened his skateboard. "Maka, get on."

Maka stepped on behind him. "Ready."

Kidd didn't looked behind him, but instead started to load the fire boosters. "What time is it?"

"We have ten minutes before the late bell rings."

The turbos were fully charged. Kidd lifted off the ground and shot towards the Shibusen. They zoomed through the streets until they reached the bottom of the stairs leading up to the entrance. Then, Kidd lifted the top of his skateboard to a 60 degree angle and looked at the windblown face of Maka.

"We're going to be going on a pretty steep shot up the stairs. You can hold on to me if you want to."

Maka shook her head and straightened her hair. She didn't help at all; the hair fell sloppily all over her face, her bangs covering half of her eyes.

Kidd resisted the urge to brush them away and comb through all the rest of her hair- or curl it until it was symmetrically framing her face.

Maka motioned for him to start up. "I can balance by myself. We were trained for this, remember? And besides, I have Soul."

She had hooked Soul's blade upside down and under the skateboard, and using the handle as a holding-stick. Soul's face flashed in his blade and he gave Kidd a thumbs-up. "I'll be fine. Just go, we have only four minutes now."

The skateboard was zipping through the air before she finished her sentence.

* * *

First period- Being "evaluated" Dr. Stein by way of soul shock wave resistance.

Second period- [Weapons only] Free time for meisters, weapon transformation training by Marie, Death Scythe.

Third period- P.E. Training for all students, being forced to run until you drop by Sid.

Fourth period- How to withstand Madness, held by Justin Law.

Fifth period- [Meisters only] Free time for weapons, meister combat training taught by Nygus.

-Lunch-

Sixth period- Meister and Weapon Fusion Exemplary Lesson, Dr. Stein and Spirit.

Seventh period- Health [Boys- Spirit and Girls- Blair]

Eighth period- Soul wavelength channeling and long-range mapping taught by Yumi Azusa.

Ninth period- Level III Mechanics and Coffee-making taught by Joe Buttataki.

Tenth period- Combat Free Period (arranged fights)

* * *

The last bell rang and kids poured through the doors and out of Shibusen, all too happy to get out as fast as they could.

Only two stayed.

Maka leaned back on Soul, balancing carefully on the blade and the handle, sweat beading on her forehead, her breathing fast. Her eyes were running all around the room, evaluating everything in it and all the places that gave her refuge or could be leaped on.

Kidd crouched on the floor Liz and Patty charging up in his hands, sweat also sliding down his face, but his face one of extreme concentration, his eyes mapping out every shot he was going to take next. Liz and Patty thrummed in his hands, ready to blast on.

Dr. Stein sat on his swivel chair, his arms on his backrest, his glasses glinting. "Are you sure you want to continue? You both have been so far equal for the past thirty minutes of nonstop combat."

"We're starting again," Maka said, stretching her shoulders and neck before settling into her battle stance, Soul slung over her shoulder, ready to be flung out once again. Soul's blade flashed once, and Maka's soul resonance signature was sent out into the air. Soul flashed and crystallized into the Witch Hunter.

Kidd nodded and rose up from his crouch. The first line has been crossed. Soul Resonance was now to be used. He pressed a button with both of his pinkies. Liz and Patty's weapon form flashed bright green and expanded, and spikes slid out of Kidd's arms. "Ready in .4 seconds."

"Ready to fire."

Stein scooted his swiveling chair back a few feet. "Have it your way. One... Two... Three. Soul Perimeter!"

A large circular perimeter appeared around Maka and Kidd. The golden line shimmered.

"If you fall outside the line, you lose."

"Begin."


	3. Chapter 3

Death the Kidd had set Liz and Patty to Quick-Fire, and just as Stein called start, he tore up the air with a few rounds. Although the Witch Hunter is very powerful, and it can cut through most everything, but it is very unwieldy and rather large. Maka leaped up onto the desks and dodged the bullets, leaping onto Soul's handle (like she did when she went insane) and swinging the blade towards Kidd.

Kidd fired off two shots at Maka and then ran to the other side of the circle, firing off another two shots just as Liz and Patty finished charging.

Maka cleaved a giant, crumbling gap right in the middle of the floor.

"Tch." Stein clicked his tongue as he watched as Kidd nimbly leaped around and fired off shots, which were then dodged by Maka, who then tried to get close for a swing, but Kidd being far too fast.

"Maka is very skilled in hand to hand and close combat, but Kidd's forte is back-seat sniping, using his instinct to aim. Each one would pursue their own skills and disregard the others. They are clearly not going to go anywhere."

He raised a hand. Maka and Kidd paused, Kidd just about to fire and Maka just about to dodge.

"Maka, Witch Hunter isn't going to get you anywhere! Go back to a smaller form, don't try to take him out in one shot! Kidd, small bullets will never hit Maka, get your big guns out!"

Maka and Kidd didn't say a word.

Three green flashes.

By the time Stein was registering what was happening next, Maka was already slicing Kidd's sleeve with Soul's normal form, where then Kidd fired up Liz to 'bomb-level' and blasted Maka away from him.

Only for her to skid to a stop right on the line, backflip back, just in time to dodge Patty's ejection which would've pushed her over the line.

Maka ran up the desks, swinging Soul around her arms until... She reached the last desk, all the way to the back and to the top, where Kidd was standing and loading his guns, where then she pole-vaulted Soul, swung him back over her head aimed the blade at him and leaped towards Kidd...

And he fired.

* * *

Maka washed ash off her face and plucked toasted-brown hair off her bangs. Her face was still red from heat.

She looked over to where Soul was. "Are you alright?" He was very pale.

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry. I didn't think... Of the risk. Of you. I'm sorry."

"It's okay." _No, it's not, Soul._

The door opened. Kidd stepped in. He was wearing a hospital nightgown, a bandage over his right arm. "Maka. How are you doing?"

Maka forced a grin. "Fine. Just a small burn, really. Soul's blade took most of the heat, though."

Kidd nodded. "That's why he was hot when he cut me."

"I'm sorry." Maka got up from her chair and forced Soul to sit down in it and drink water. She walked over to Kidd. "How bad is it?"

"It's actually very shallow. You didn't have enough time to get the blade in deep before I blasted you off twenty feet of desks."

Maka winced, remembering the bruises on her back. They throbbed.

Kidd noticed. "Are they bad?"

"No, they only hurt a little."

"Soul fell on top of you. He weighs more than you do. Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'll live."

Kidd opened his mouth, his yellow eyes narrowing. Maka's movements were very restricted. It was as if she was avoiding moving her shoulders. He was about to comment when Maka changed the subject.

"What about you? You only have that wound on one arm. Are you okay with that?"

Kidd blinked. "Oh, that reminds me why I was here. Would you perhaps make another wound symmetrical to this one on my other-"

"No."

"But-"

"No!"

"Fine, I'll just borrow Soul because he had a unique blade-"

"No, he still recovering from taking a bomb blade-on at three feet range."

"Can he transform?"

Maka looked over to where Soul was applying white lotion to his skin. Although he looked fine in his human form, he acted as if his skin was on fire, which it probably was in weapon form. He looked up while she was staring at him. Some of his previous scar showed through his thin shirt.

Maka looked away.

Maka pulled Kidd outside. Soul looked up as she left. He knew what they were going to talk about. His hand tightened into a hard fist.

"He... Can't transform." Maka's eyes started to dampen and she wiped at them in annoyance and hopelessness.

"What?" Kidd's normally bored expression turned into surprise, his eyes widening.

"His weapon form is in really bad shape. If he transforms, he'll... Die. He'll _die._"

"... How bad is it?"

"He says when he transforms, it's like walking through a door and coming out different on the other end. Except this time, the passageway between weapon and human from is hot and the 'walls' are melted and there's fire blocking at every turn and he feels as if..." _As if I were being blasted in the face with a bomb a thousand times over._

Maka crumpled down, her knees giving way. "I wanted to win. If I had won against you in combat, I would be in second place behind Black*Star. I wanted to be first. Like my... My mother. If I couldn't be first- I would be second. I-I hurt Soul. _I_ hurt Soul. Again. When will I stop? Hurting people? When? _When?!_"

Maka heard a _click_. She looked up.

Kidd pointed a gun to her face and pulled the trigger.

Water squirted out.

Kidd tossed her a napkin, folded neatly into a triangle. "Oops. I sprayed water on your face, Maka. You weren't crying just now, I just doused you with some water. The Maka I knew wouldn't cry. Do you know what my Maka would do?"

Maka stared at the napkin on her lap, and Kidd looked down at her from above.

"She would try again, and not be ashamed for wanting to win."

"Correct."

"She would make Soul heal, and take care of herself."

"Especially taking care of herself."

"And she would try again and wouldn't give up."

"Yeah."

Maka stared up at the face of Shibusen's future leader, and she knew.

Shibusen was in good hands.

"... You know, Kidd."

"Yeah?"

"You deserve to be second."

* * *

Soul was laying down on the mat when Maka walked in again.

"You were talking about me."

Maka sat down next to him and wouldn't meet his eyes.

"You don't have to worry. I'll be able to transform in no time. I'm fine, really. What sort of weapon would I be if I can't even transform?" Maka continued to look at her hands. Then, her mouth opened slightly.

"Even if you couldn't transform... I would." She whispered.

"What?" Maka's head was now held up high. She stared into Soul's eyes without blinking.

"Soul, even if you couldn't transform, I would. I'll be a weapon. You can be my meister."

"But being a meister is your dream- you can't give up, not after ten years of straight A's!" Soul sat up on the bed, jerking up. "I'm failing history- I'll make a horrible a meister!"

Maka pushed him down, standing up and over him, her hand on his chest. "I won't change my decision. I'm sticking with you."

Soul stared at her, speechless.

Maka smiled at him. "Friends stick together, don't they?"

* * *

Fire. Matches. Smoke stinging his eyes.

Heat.

The passageway. Can't find. The door. Where is it?

Where is my weapon form?

Soul slammed into the world of wakefulness, his heart hammering in it's rib cage and cold sweat blanketing his entire body.

He couldn't transform. No matter how much he had tried.

"Maka..."

He lay back down. She was probably back at home right now, studying.

"You can't even transform yourself..." She only sprouted knives using her blood in the fight against Asura, and that was only when she went into a forced sleep.

"... So why would you make such a stupid promise?"


	4. Chapter 4

_Father introduced to me a little kid with blue hair today._

_Star clan._

_Very powerful, excitable, very crazy._

_His ego is too big to float._

_He has a good weapon._

_Symmetrical in one form._

_But too submissive. __Very shy._

_Tsubaki, the flower with no scent._

_Black*Star, the idiot._

* * *

"The fight between Maka and Death the Kidd... Is declared a win to Death the Kidd on account that both meister and weapon in the Maka and Soul combination were knocked unconscious. Death the Kidd will remain second, Maka will remain in third place."

Stein closed the announcement with a strict dismissal.

As the people cleared out, Maka was once more reminded of the empty seat next to her. Usually Soul would be racing out to be the first one to get away from Shibusen. Racing out, tripping over something (Usually her or her books), and cursing and yelling. And eventually getting punished by Stein.

The last time she saw him, he was feverish and incomprehensible. He was burning right up from the inside.

A hand landed on her shoulder. She looked up. Tsubaki smiled kindly down at her. "It was an accident. I know you would never intentionally hurt Soul."

Maka smiled weakly up, but dropped it almost as soon as her lips curved. Her fist slammed into her desk with enough force to send the desk flying.

It crashed into the wall.

"I know... But I thought I actually got stronger from defeating the Kishin... But, I'm still just as weak. I, I thought that I was strong enough, so much that... As long as I live, no one close to me would ever get hurt. But- _but he was hurt because of me_- because of my... Never mind. I'm sick of myself. Let's talk about something else. Tsubaki, I'm so glad you're back... But, the guy who came back with you?"

"You mean me?!" Maka flinched. Black*Star punched her lightly on the shoulder (broke her shoulder blade) and grinned. "I already visited Soul! He'll be absolutely fine after seeing me- my energy completely healed him! Maka, stop sulking! C'mon, stare into my face, you'll feel better!"

When Maka didn't turn around, Black*Star placed (threw) her desk down in front of her, which was over his shoulder. "Wow, Maka, I didn't know you could punch like that."

The desk cracked as he smashed it into contact with the floor.

Black*Star grinned. "See? You even broke it in half!"

Maka and Tsubaki stared at the crack.

"No, I think you did that, Black*Star."

"No, no, I'm sure that was you, Maka- Tsubaki! I suddenly remembered that I need to make a test up- LET'S GO, NOW!"

"Hey, hey, what're you gonna do about the broken desk?! Black*Star- get back here!"

* * *

Maka placed down ten pages down in front of her and resharpened her pencil. Her hand ached from writing.

The door opened.

Maka glared at Black*Star. "How did the make-up test go, huh?"

Black*Star grinned guiltily. "Ah, ha ha. Anyways, was the punishment bad?"

"'I will not break desks.' Two hundred and fifty times."

"Well... You write faster than I do."

"..."

"But, you know," Black*Star sat down next to her and didn't face her as he spoke. His voice was no longer cheerful.

"Yeah?"

"You didn't defeat the Kishin by yourself. You were only able to do because everyone else weakened him to the point where you just had to throw the last punch."

"... What is this? Are you trying to say that I'm weak? That I'm useless?! I know I'm weaker than you and I don't deserve to be a heroine, so why are you rubbing it-"

"Shut up and let the great Black*Star speak!" Black*Star was still not looking at her, but his voice was angry.

Maka's eyes narrowed. She turned her gaze from him as well and her hands crumbled up her papers. "Fine. Go on."

"I'm saying that... You would not have been able to defeat the Kishin by yourself. _We_ defeated the Kishin- _we_. During the last few months, you... Seem to think that all the responsibility fell on you... You don't have to be strong- because you're not, not by yourself, at least."

Black*Star paused.

Maka blinked. "... Go... Go on."

Black*Star took a deep breath. "You're strong when we were there being strong for you. You're, I dunno how to say this right... Better with a team. You know, backing you. Your soul... It's weak and small by itself, but when you put it with someone else, the resonance is amazing... Because you're both. Both meister and weapon... We're just as strong as you, if not more. So... You can depend on us. Build off that strength and amplify it."

Small droplets of water were staining Maka's paper.

"Soul will survive. And... One day you'll catch up with us. There's no shame in being weak. There's another half of you that's just as powerful- use it and you'll be twice as powerful as you are right now."

Black*Star finally turned around and looked at Maka. "So, how was it? Listening to the wise words of the awe-inspiring Black*Star?"

Maka's arm was up and covering her face.

"... I didn't know being told I was weak would make me so... Happy."

Black*Star slapped her back and laughed. "Don't you worry now! If you want to get stronger, you can have my autograph- stare at it everyday and you'll definitely-"

"No."

"But I-"

"I want to get stronger... By myself."

"Hey, did you or did you not just listened to what I said? I was making a point there- about relying on us! What is with your stubborn independence? Is this a thick skull or what?" He punched the left side of Maka's head.

"What are you calling a thick skull? You're the thickest skull I've ever met!"

"What? I'm very sensitive!"

"Staring at your autograph will not help me get stronger the slightest!"

"Yeah? You haven't even tried it yet!"

"You sent me half a dozen autographs every birthday or holiday, and shoved them all in my face! If I got stronger by looking by them, I'd be unbeatable by now!"

"You don't look at them at all, you probably threw them out! I can't find them at all and I've searched all over your house! There's just this one that's in a large chest."

"What? The big box- how did you get into that?"

"I broke the lock."

"God, I can't believe you- that's where I put all my most precious stuff! That's why the expensive lock broke. You owe me!"

"Your most precious stuff."

"Yeah, what about it? Did you break anything? Take anything?"

"No... But, that would make... My autograph one of your 'most precious stuff', right?"

"..."

"AHA, YOU DON'T HAVE TO PRETEND ANYMORE, BLACK*STAR HAS IT COVERED! I'LL WRITE YOU A HUNDRED AUTOGRAPHS FOR YOU TO TREASURE FOREVER!"

"Quiet!"

"Here, I'll sign your sentences!"

"Shut up! And stop- I have to turn those in!"

* * *

Someone knocked on the door.

Kidd looked up from his desk, where piles of papers informed him of the grades of the students.

"Come in."

The door opened. Maka stepped in. "I'm here because I working with Liz on a project. Is she here?"

"Liz and Patty went off to do something for me."

"Oh, then I'll come back later."

"Actually, I need your help for something, Maka."

"Yeah?"

"Patty made me promise that I wouldn't leave the chair."

"Yeah, so?"

"Could... You please... Go into the bathroom and check if I remember to fold the toilet paper- Hey, where are you going? Maka! Makaaa!"

* * *

_I watched the blue hair dude fight some other people before school started._

_He won._

_He is very strong._

_Stronger than me._

_Much stronger._

_I... Feel angry._

_I don't like it. _

_How can someone like him be so strong?_

_He can barely spell._

_Does he deserve the blood that runs through his veins?_

_He is hiding something._

_Under that silly persona, that stupid face._

_He's probably hiding his genius._

_-Later-_

_Never mind._

_The guy is a complete idiot._

_And the most annoying person I've ever met._

* * *

Alright, to finish the chapter circling Black*Star off-

I'm sorry, contrary to the title, this chapter had really almost nothing of Kidd. The next one will have more of him, I swear.


	5. Chapter 5

It was well into the night, the moon asleep and snoring outside. Kidd stretched and cracked his knuckles. He looked out his window. Pages and pages of research labeled 'Cannot transform into Weapon Form' lay neatly stacked on his desk. Perfectly spherical balls of paper were stacked in his trashcan.

Kidd walked over to the window. He looked up.

The moon was drooling.

Asymmetrically.

Kidd quickly drew the curtains. Now was not the time to bash up the moon. He turned around and headed back to his chair. He tapped his pen against the table. He shifted.

"Where the hell is Liz and Patty?" He muttered, with just a tiny bit of worry hidden behind a thick wall of annoyance.

* * *

_I met my perfect weapon._

_Actually, my perfect weapons._

_I finally found them! The symmetrical sisters!_

_Transform-Guns!_

_Except they have their differences..._

_But I can fix it._

_The older one can have some breast implants, _

_and the younger one could take some dancing lessons._

_Simple._

_They should be happy to be perfected._

_Everything is right in this world._

_Except that it isn't symmetrical, of course._

_-Later-_

_The elder sister refuses to get breast implants._

* * *

Patty swung her sister around her pinky. "What are we supposed to go again?"

Liz thought for a moment. "Kidd said once we got off the boat- which we did- we should go exactly north until we reach some sort of s-spooky cave."

"Is that why you insisted on being the gun this time?"

"Why else would I want you to shoot?"

"Okay."

As Patty walked along a dark road, guided by the bright North Star, she noticed the sleeping moon and thought of the time. She looked up. "It's really late."

"Y-yeah."

"It's a really dark forest. I thought big trees like these don't grow near salty water."

"That's true, it is abnormal... Wait a moment, I taught you that!"

"Yeah, so?"

"You remembered something I taught you, Patty, good job!"

"Yay!"

"Now, what is a pig?"

"Um... I know!"

"Yes?!"

"A big-eared white fluffy thingy that likes to eat carrots!" Liz's happiness was crushed in an instant.

"Patty, that's a rabbit."

"Oh. Sorry!"

"... Am I such a horrible teacher?"

"Yeah!" Patty shouted. The echoes of that bounded and rebounded to them. They felt as if they were being watched.

_Patty, _Liz thought.

_Yeah?_

_Quiet._

"Okay!"

_Quiet! _Liz fiercely sent that thought to Patty.

Too late.

There was rustling and crackling as the forest behind them came alive.

Patty turned around, aiming her sister towards the blackness. As that clouds that covered the moon moved away, the shadows lengthened, morphed, and then melted away.

Liz's eyes widened.

"I don't believe it."

* * *

Kidd flipped through his pages. "Liz and Patty should be home by now. It was only a quick visit to grab a few Cyroherbs. Those would do a lot to cool Soul down and chill his fever."

He unfurled the map of the island that he sent Liz and Patty to.

"If they didn't go off the path, then they would take the- what?"

He ran his eyes over his map. "No! This isn't the map I had this morning- who changed the name?!" He took the cap off his pen and started to draw the path he ordered Liz and Patty to take.

"I- I told them the exact path to... No!"

Kidd grabbed his skateboard and was out the window before the pen he had let go of hit the table- where it made its ink mark right on his destination.

_{In Silvis Vivit.}_

The Living Forest.

* * *

Liz powered up and started up all her defense systems. "Patty, what does that look like to you?"

Patty squinted at the writhing plants. "I think I see a very faint soul behind all those plants. That soul... Has gone bad. And it's effected the plants. Must have been here a very long time."

"Exactly."

"Can I eat that soul?"

"It might make you sick."

"It can try."

"Yeah, go ahead. I don't like vegetables all that much anyway."

Patty adjusted her hat and grinned, feeling her sister's power-up. "I don't like raw vegetables. Guess we should fry it up first."

"And make it stop moving."

"That too."

Patty's tongue darted out and licked her lips.

"Alright! Lunchtime!"

Patty held up Liz and pulled the trigger three times one explosive bullet after another. It blasted the three nearest vines to pieces.

The ground rumbled. Dirt sprayed, and then a mass of thorns and spikes rose up from the floor and nearly impaled Patty in a hundred places, is she hadn't jumped out of its way. She leaped up to a tree branch and avoided the ropy vines that hung from it, firing at every movement she saw.

Patty could see light ahead. "Nearly out!" She shouted, running along the branches, defying gravity.

Roses blossomed on top of the thorny vines. Pollen fell down and Patty blinked, surprised. She breathe in once.

"Patty, don't breathe in the pollen!"

"Dizzy..." She crumpled, her hand going slack. Liz tumbled down from the branches and clattered on the forest floor.

"Patty!" Liz tried to make sense of the outside world. If she transformed now, she'd still have to climb all the way up without breathing. But what would the dust do to Patty if she didn't get her out?

"Fine," Liz muttered. The chances were low but she'll take it. "Transform!"

"Don't, Liz!" She froze. That voice.

"Kidd?!"

Kidd balanced three feet above the forest floor, his skateboard fully charged. His shinigami mask was on. "Liz, come here!" He held out his hand.

In a flash she was in the place where she felt the most safe.

"Kidd, I swear, we followed the exact path you told us to-"

"I know."

"Great, now go save Patty!"

"Where is she?!"

"Up there, in the tree!"

Kidd's skateboard sliced through the air and zoomed towards the branches above.

"Kidd, what are you going to do about the vines?"

He was dodging all the ones that were coming towards him. Then he held up Liz. "I'll use you."

"But only one gun is asymmetrical."

"Not if I use two hands to hold you."

Kidd flipped Liz around his pinkies and fired.

The vines blocking their way to Patty crumbled into ash. Kidd flew up there and splashed a solution from Dr. Stein all over her face. In a flash, she was in his other hand and ready to go.

"Kidd, you're finally here!"

"Patty, are you okay?"

"Yeah! A pig is the little pink strips that Kidd likes to fry on Saturday mornings!"

"No... That's bacon."

"Oh."

"But that's close enough, Patty! Good job!"

"Yay!"

Kidd zoomed out of the forest, leaving the vines behind and towards the icy cold mountains ahead.

"Hey, Kidd, aren't you gonna beat the crap out of the ruined soul back there?"

"We don't have time, _Soul_ doesn't have time. I'll just ask Nygus to come back here. She'll be good with the quick vines. But, for now, we have to get the Cyroherb or Soul might run the risk of never transforming again... And I have to do this, I also have to fix this."

"Why? Maka was the one who leaped at you." Liz watched as they got closer and closer to the top. She can just almost see the sunlight.

"I was the one who pulled the trigger- I also wanted to win. I wanted to be like my father too. The most powerful. If I couldn't have first place, then... I had to keep second."

Kidd blasted clear three vines and shot up, feeling his skateboard tremble. A thick vine had wrapped around it. Kidd turned up the speed. "I could have stopped, you know? I could have not fired and put up defense and taken the hit- which I would have certainly survived, but I didn't."

"I guess I just wanted to win that much, right?" _Even at the cost of my friend's life._

Liz nodded to Patty. She shrugged carelessly and waved her hand. "Well, then I guess we'd have to forfeit our meal and continue with the Cyroherb."

"Thank you."

"No prob, Kidd!" Patty shouted.

"Yeah. It was our fault too."

"We let you pull the trigger."

* * *

_I don't know why, but I am satisfied with my weapons._

_But they are not symmetrical._

_Why am I satisfied?_

_I should want to perfect them._

_I think it's because..._

_They are already perfect._

_Some people are perfect even if asymmetrical._

_Why is that?_

_Why don't I feel the urge to change them?_

_Liz and Patty._

_But still, why are Liz's breasts smaller? _

_She is the older one, right?_

_Surely she had more time to grow some-_

_{many crossed out characters}_

_NOTE FROM LIZ:_

_SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT MY BOOBS, GODDAMMIT, KIDD!_

_I was right._

_She is still a size A._


	6. Chapter 6

Soul blinked his eyes. He held up his hands in front of him and looked at them. He rubbed his face. He felt normal. And that was what felt strange. How did he cool down? He felt as if someone dumped some ice straight into his blood. It was working. He could feel the burns and the melted metal in his weapon form reshape and heal.

He might be able to transform again.

Soul sat up. _I have to try, I have to try right now- _A hand reached up and pushed down on his shoulder. Maka leaned in and looked straight into his eyes. "No. Not until you get better." Soul blinked. "Eh? You were sleeping here?" He quickly masked his surprise. "Not do what? I wasn't going to do anything."

"You were going to transform."

Soul couldn't say anything.

The door opened. Maka and Soul froze and they both turned to look at their interrupter.

"Um... S-should I leave?" Said a voice from behind Maka. Maka let go of Soul turned around, and grabbed Crona's shoulder before he could make his escape. "No, it's fine."

Crona was slowly dragged back into the room by Maka. He lowered his head in front of Soul and Maka. "I didn't know Maka would be here. I'm sorry." Maka shook her head. "It's fine."

Soul sat up. "Why are you here?" Crona held up his hand, which had a crumpled envelope. "I thought I would just pop in and drop off this while you were asleep..." Soul took the envelope and ripped it open. Crona flinched.

He slid out a diagnosis sheet. "This... Is about another guy who was also accidentally burned in his weapon so bad that he had to... Permanently stay in human form."

Maka took the other sheet that was in the envelope. "You got Stein's medical care right after you fell, and Kidd brought back the Cyroherb in just one day, and it took Marie only a few hours to brew it. Surely..."

Soul took the diagnosis from Maka and folded them up, sliding them back into the trashed envelope and tossing it to the windowsill. "The guy was pretty strong. Much older than me. He also ingested the Cyroherb. And the one who took care of him was none other than our Dr. Stein. Guess there's no hope for me, eh?"

"No, there still is, you can't just give up-"

"Who said I was going to give up?" Soul's gaze was sharp enough to reach through Maka's eyes and slice her soul. "I said I was cool, remember? Is it cool to give up?"

"I'm not going to force you to become a weapon, Maka. I'll die before that."

* * *

Maka and Crona stood outside Soul's hospital room. Maka held the diagnosis close to her chest. She looked up at Crona. "I'll go over these and find something, anything. I won't give up."

Crona fidgeted. "You know, Maka."

"What?"

"You could become... Like me."

Maka blinked. "Eh?"

"Both meister and weapon."

"I hardly see you with Ragnarok anymore."

"He' become really quiet, but I can still solidify my black blood to make a weapon."

"Yeah, I know." All the other meister-weapon pairs always talked about that.

"Your blood can morph into steel."

"I know."

"So you can still use your combat skill."

"Crona."

"...?"

Maka's bangs covered her eyes. "Before I met Soul, I tried every type of weapon I could get my hands on, so I can tell you this with absolute certainty."

Maka's head lifted and she stared up to Crona. Her eyes flashed.

"There is no other weapon that could make me perform my best other than Evans."

"Not even myself."

* * *

Soul felt the heat return to his head. It returned, but it was weakened. "How many doses before I get better?" He asked. Kidd mixed the blueish leaves and petals into the cup of boiling water. The water froze. "I think about ten for the best results- any more you would freeze to death, but I can't say for sure."

"How many did you get?"

"I had only the time to get only two flowers- about five small doses. Any longer in the cave and I would have froze to death, even at the speed of my skateboard."

"It's okay. I am lucky to even have this to help me along."

"So you'd have to get through the passageway with only five doses."

"What do you think I should do?"

"Well, it might be a good idea to eat all of them at once and then force your way through, but I can't say for sure what would happen once you get to the other end. And if you fail, I want to have extra for a second try." The living forests on the island shifts every now and then.

Going back may be the end of Kidd's luck.

"No, I think I should go with all or nothing."

"All right, but I have one condition. Actually, Stein told me to enforce this condition."

"What?"

"He says that Maka has to be here."

"He didn't have to say that, and you don't have to enforce it."

"Why? Were you going to tell her where the attempt would take place?"

"... If I hadn't, she wouldn't have left this room earlier, right?"

"True."

"She's going to come straight here after class though, I promise you that. She doesn't trust me."

Kidd chuckled. "Yeah."

Soul's mouth curved into his crooked smile that Maka loved to much. "To think I would fall due to an accident."

"You haven't fallen yet."

"Not yet."

"Maka would force her way into your soul again and punch her way through the passageway before she lets you fall."

"No, I think... This is something I have to do myself."

"Maka would be pissed off if she heard that."

"She's the biggest hypocrite I've ever met."

"Same here."

* * *

_What is with my friends and their tendency to be so strong?_

_What is with all of them and independence?_

_And when did I suddenly have friends?_

_It's like they just appeared and forced their way in._

_And I let them._


	7. Chapter 7

Kidd stood outside the Shibusen classroom.

Slow footsteps.

Maka walked out of the room and looked at Kidd. She had her arms wrapped around her books. Her nails were digging holes in the cover and her arms were trembling.

But her gaze was straight and clear.

"I'm ready."

* * *

Soul looked up when Kidd and Maka entered the room. He gave a small, tight and crooked grin.

Maka looked like she was about to break into pieces. She was an inch away from forcing Soul to take her into his soul passageway. She straightened up and lowered her head, staring at the floor.

He wanted to do it by himself.

Her teeth gritted.

Kidd quickly walked over and gave Kidd the glass of potent tonic. "We'll start right now. Black*Star says he would want to go with you too much so he won't be here, but he says he'll be rooting for you as he beats the crap out of a monster with Tsubaki to let out some stress."

Kidd continued to talk as Soul drank the potion. "Patty and Liz are with Nygus. They're going to get rid of the forest with a group of other kids and Dr. Stein. If this doesn't work, you'll have a lot of Cyroherbs left over to try again."

_That is, if you make it back._

Soul set the empty glass down and wiped licked his lips, which were turning blue. He smiled at Maka, whose head had lifted up against her will.

Maka walked over and sat right down next to Soul. She cracked open a book with one hand and caught Soul's hand with the other.

"If your hand so much as exceeds my hand's temperature, I'm going in." Soul blinked, surprised, and then grinned. "I won't be long."

"You'd better. I'm nearly done with this book. You have at most an hour."

"All right, all right."

* * *

Fire, fire... But they're all in the backround. He had more time, but they were crawling up slowly.

Soul ran up the stairs that appeared in front of him two at a time. Behind him, they crumpled to ash as soon as he stepped off them. The smoke was still there. Thick and gray and blocking his sight and collecting in his throat.

The heat was pulsing to the beat of his heart.

Everything was red, orange, yellow, red as blood. Hot blood. Blood hot enough to boil. Evaporating into gas. He's breathing blood. Thick in his throat.

The metal of the staircase was warm. Soul took his hands off them, and then returned them. He had to hold or else he might fall back into the darkness behind him.

And the fire that waited in that darkness.

He could feel the heat on his neck.

Hot smoke.

He ran up the stairs faster now, three at a time.

He was short of breath, more from panic than anything else. Sid had trained him well. He can climb up ten flights of stairs without breaking sweat. Calm down.

You do not want to bring Maka into this.

_Maka._

And the heat seemed to subside and Soul raced up the stairs, and the thick smoke seemed to clear and dissipate. The smell of burning flesh disappeared.

His right hand was warm but his left hand was still cool. He touched his left hand.

Maka was holding that hand.

He ran on.

* * *

Soul's hand was warming up. That's okay. Maka's hand was cold enough for that. Her hand trembled.

She gripped his hand harder.

Kidd sat in the corner, pretending to read _The Art of Symmetry,_ and he didn't miss that movement.

He hadn't flipped a single page since he opened the book.

* * *

He had finished the flights of stairs. He felt like he had passed an invisible line.

The heat intensified, but it was nowhere near as bad as it was when he had first tried to transform after being burned. He can deal with it.

He walked along the hallway. Multiple doors appeared, but he knew they were all locked, and if he touched the metal doorknobs, his hand would be burned.

He ignored them as he walked past. Some doors felt hot, others released cold wisps of air.

The first time he had met a cold door, he nearly opened it until he realized that it was all the trick- the doorknob was just as hot as all the others.

He had a burn mark on his right hand now.

Somehow he knew Maka was staring at its appearance in the outside world. She must be freaking out and beating the hell out of Kidd with a book. He'd better hurry up.

Soul grinned, a tiny spark of happiness lighting his way through his soul. Suddenly, he turned around and stared at the tiny shadow that had tailed him the entire time.

"Little demon, I know you're there. Come out, come out, wherever you are."

"Give me back the key to my soul."

* * *

The door slammed open. Black*Star leaped through- with too much force- and before he could stop himself, toppled into the medicinal cabinets. Glass clattered and clinked against each other.

Kidd stood up and went insane. "Gaaah! You fool! I just sorted them all symmetrically, too!"

Tsubaki came running into the room. "Black*Star, don't run too fast- Ooh!"

She tripped over Kidd's dropped book and fell on him.

Kidd then turned around and fell on top of Black*Star.

"Gurf! The hell are you doing, motherfucker?! Did you suddenly gain a hundred pounds or what?"

"The extra one hundred plus pounds isn't me, goddammit!" Kidd was holding up three glass beakers, making sure they managed not to break, however this made him powerless to stop Tsubaki from falling on his stomach.

Tsubaki winced. "Sorry, Black*Star. I tripped..."

"It's not your fault. That damn book you had, Kidd, does it have a curse on it or something?"

The door slammed open once again. Liz ran into the room. "What happened? Black*Star? I saw you at the entrance, Tsubaki, why did you run off? I got the Cyroherbs- Gah!"

The door had opened once again, smashing Liz into the wall. Patty ran in, chewing on a soul. "We defeated the living forest, Kidd! O-Oof!"

She tripped over the book of symmetry and went flying. She slammed into the window. The birds outside on the windowsill were startled at the sudden _bang!_ and one by one they flapped off.

A very flat Liz slid down from the wall and lay crumpled on the floor.

The door closed with a _click_.

Maka stared at all the chaos that suddenly appeared in front of her. Tsubaki was helping Black*Star up, Kidd was frantically sorting glasses and jars, Liz was dying somewhere near the door, Patty was plastered against the window (scaring the fuck out of the people outside), and the book of symmetry's cover was completely ruined.

You know what they say.

Good friends just appear out of nowhere.

And you never completely realize when they became your friend, or how.

* * *

"How did you know I was here?"

The little red demon walked out from blackness. Soul leaned on the wall, hands crossed. "You're a part of me. I'm never going to be rid of you."

The little demon held up its hands, fingers spread out innocently. "I don't have a key? See?"

Soul could see from there that the demon wasn't hiding anything.

"You put it somewhere."

"..."

"Where is it?"

"Oh? You don't _remember_?"

The little demon chuckled. "Well, then I guess I can't help you."

Then he disappeared.

Soul stared at the spot that it used to stand. "... Remember... How? I don't even know where he put it in the first place... My _memory..._ He hid it in one of my memories!"_  
_

He kicked the floor, sending some flaming rocks tumbling down the staircase into the shadows beyond. "Oi, what is this? Am I supposed to search for it or what? Is it going to get me into my weapon form? How much more cliche can you get? Just get back here and let me beat you up, already!"

There was a pounding in his head. There was a blast of hot air as the hallways behind him crashed down. Ash spiraled into the air. He turned around and stared in front of him.

The shadows and smoky haze moved away and left him with three, jagged, uneven, and burnt-wood doors. Small flames glowed on the sides.

He heard a tiny voice behind him. He knew if he turned around, he wouldn't see anything.

"Why don't you try opening a door and taking a look inside your memory?"


	8. Chapter 8

Maka was sitting in the corner with Black*Star. They fidgeted together and looked in different places in random times. They fidgeted some more.

Liz and Patty slumped against each other, knocked out. Even if they hadn't hit the wall/window, they were too exhausted from fighting to really do anything else.

Kidd was mixing another batch of Cyroherbs. Tsubaki was bandaging Liz and Patty's wounds. The cuts were a funny greenish color. She was washing out the color with alcohol.

They waited.

And waited.

For their friend to come back.

* * *

Soul bent down and stared through the keyhole. On the other side, little kids ran around and played. Sunlight filtered through the hole. He didn't see a key anywhere.

He walked over to the other door. He stared into the keyhole in the same fashion. All he saw was blackness. He went from the middle door to the door that was to the right. He knelt down and peered inside. Happy children laughed and played. It was the same scene that he had seen in the first door.

He stood up and looked at the middle door.

He turned around and stared at the flames eating up the space he had. "I need the key to the middle door."

And it was as if he struck a match.

Flames suddenly shot up the wall from the stairs with increasing speed. An inferno suddenly roared a few feet from him. No key laid in sight...

Suddenly, something blue flickered out of the corner of his eye. He caught the key that was thrown to him. It was shaped out of ice. And it was melting. Soul turned around and frantically slid the key into the keyhole. It melted some more. He jiggled it.

Just as the flames reached his shoes, the door clicked open and he fell through. He slammed the door behind him. The rest of the key fell to pieces in his hand. He patted out the flames with his hands frantically.

A feeling flickered over his head. A whimsical, innocent thought. _What would happen if I ate the rest of the key?_

Soul blinked slowly. Ah, what the heck. He popped the last remaining ice piece into his mouth.

His hand moved on its own. His mind was screaming _no!_.

Something was wrong.

The ice key's piece.

It burned.

* * *

Kidd knew something was wrong as soon as Soul started to moan. Liz and Patty had been taken out with Tsubaki. Black*Star's head snapped up. "Is he okay?"

Maka practically teleported over to Soul's side. "What's happening? Kidd? What's happening? Is this supposed to happen?"

Kidd held Soul's flailing arms down with one hand. With the other, Kidd grabbed the bottle of mixture. "He's burning up. Here, hold him down!"

Black*Star ran over and grabbed both of Soul's legs. "I got him!" Maka held Soul's arms down. Kidd tilted Soul's chin up. Just as he was about to pour in a few drops, Soul convulsed and a few drops spilled on the windowsill.

Ice covered the glass a few inches thick in seconds. Cold air blasted Maka and Black*Star's face. Kidd's hair frosted over.

They looked at Soul who was still flushed despite the sudden plummet in temperature. "God, what do you have in your bullets?"

Kidd dusted frost off his hair. "My bullets aren't that powerful- it's something in Soul's body that's forcibly rejecting the cooling potion, probably against Soul's will."

"The little demon." Maka whispered.

Kidd nodded.

Black*Star grabbed the bottle as Soul stopped flailing about. "I'm going in!"

Maka snatched the bottle from him. "What?"

"He needs help, right? Fighting the demon and shit? I'm the most powerful of all of you! I'm going in and beating the crap out of-"

"You can't." Black*Star turned to Kidd.

"Why not? Maka once did!"

Kidd stared at Soul whose breath had weakened. Not a good sign. "She's part weapon. When Tsubaki went into her brother's realm, could you go in?"

Black*Star opened his mouth, and then froze, and stood there stunned and speechless.

Maka nodded. "That's why I'm going-"

"No, you're not either."

Maka stood, next to Black*Star, also speechless.

"What?"

"You lost to me, remember? If I go in, there's a better chance of success."

"Wait, you're part weapon too?"

"No, but I'm the son of the Shinigami. I can connect with Soul's resonance easily, especially at this time, when he is so vulnerable."

"... But..." Maka looked at Kidd disbelievingly.

"Besides, I made this potion. Do you know how to administer it, and how much? When? What other uses it has?" Kidd strapped the bottle of potion across his back. He was about to slide a metal knife into his pocket when he realized the temperature that it must be inside of Soul, and put the knife down.

He stared into Maka's eyes.

"Maka. Trust me."

Maka's eyebrows snapped together and she lowered her eyes.. There was no stopping him. "Alright! I got it... I get it. Go into his soul, I..."

She seemed to be at a loss for words for just a brief moment, before she stood up straighter, her voice stronger and yet more filled with pain.

"... Give my consent for the behalf of Soul... My weapon."

Kidd nodded. He leaned down towards Soul. Just before their foreheads touched, Maka held up a hand.

"Yeah?"

Maka didn't meet his eyes.

"Come back safely. With Soul."

Kidd nodded. He softly touched Soul's forehead with his.

In the back of his mind, he heard Black*Star's last shout. "We'll be waiting for you dumbasses! Got that? Come back in one piece- no, wait, not two of you together in one piece, each of you separately in one piece, got that?!"

Kidd sighed and rolled his eyes as he slowly slipped into darkness...

* * *

Soul jerked into awareness. Someone was shaking his shoulder. How was the person in his soul?! Soul opened his eyes. "Maka! I told you not to come-"

He stared up at Kidd. Kidd stared down at him. "I am not Maka."

"No shit." He forced out through puffs of breath. It hurt to breathe. He was burning up. Kidd shushed him. "Stop talking."

Kidd took the cap off his bottle and poured about a cup's worth down Soul's throat. Immediately, the air around them cooled and Soul breathed with less effort. Kidd helped him up. "Know where we are?"

Soul looked around. Books lined the shelves, tables and chairs were in sections across the large room. "This is the top floor, or my memory of the top floor, of the library that Maka loved."

Kidd noticed a faint layer of dust, no, ash on every surface. He stowed the bottle carefully over his shoulder. "Did anything happen to the library?"

"Yeah. It burned down."

"What are we supposed to do here?" Kidd walked around, noticing the symmetrical patterns on the tiles and the neatly arranged books and approving of them.

"He hid the key to my soul in my memories."

Kidd didn't ask who 'he' was. "What do you think the key looks like?"

Soul shook his head. "I don't know."

Kidd looked around the library. "Is there any special even that occurred here at the library?"

Soul thought for a moment. "Eh, this and that. I usually sat in that corner, over there. Maka was the one who ran around and read all of the books. I just sat and waited until she was done... I do sort of remember reading one book... And then, this one thing did happen..."

Soul looked away and trailed off.

Kidd walked over to the corner that Soul pointed out to him and slid a books out of the shelf. It had only a title, but when Kidd flipped it over, he only saw a few pictures, some random letters, and blank pages.

"These books are blank." He said to Soul.

Soul walked over. "I think that's 'cause I only read the first few pages. I don't remember anything but the first sentence and the images."

Kidd closed the book. "I think... The key is a book that you've read."

Soul nodded.

"Maka would know this. I'd better go-"

The door to the library, which had previously been wide open to reveal deep, shifting shadows, slammed closed. Soul and Kidd heard a click.

Kidd lifted up a hand and tried to get make sense of Soul's wavelength.

"Soul... I can't get out."


	9. Chapter 9

"What do you mean?" Soul felt chills go up his back. Kidd focused on the tiny sparks that was their souls. "I'm trying to break free of this memory and wake up... But I can't."

Soul knew exactly who was behind this. The heat was increasing. "Damn. How are we supposed to get out...?" Kidd started to 'poke' Soul's soul with his, making echoes bounce off the souls. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm sending Maka a message. She'll pick up the beat of your soul resonance."

"It feels really weird."

"I'm literally hitting your soul with mine."

"I feel... God, I actually sort of hate the shape of my soul now, since it isn't symmetrical."

"Those are my feelings. Give them back!"

"What about you? How do you feel?"

"... I have this irrational yet comforting feeling of being slung over Maka's shoulder. It's disorienting, being swung about like that. However, you do have a good view of Maka's butt when-"

"Shut up! Those are private! Give those back!" Suddenly, Soul felt something inside himself pulsing by itself. "What is that?!"

"Your soul's starting to pick up the beat. I'll stop after the message is completed, and all you have to do is mimic the echoes."

"How?"

"Just concentrate and think about... Pretend your soul is a beach ball- just bounce it in a beat."

"Got it... Hey, Kidd."

"Yeah?"

Soul Eater stared at Kidd. "Did you really spend an entire day trimming candles to be symmetrical only for them to be all melted by the next morning? I mean, did you really-"

"D-don't intrude on my memories! That was one of my worst-"

"Kidd!"

"What?"

"Maka! She's sending... A soul resonance back to me!"

* * *

Black*Star's eyebrows furrowed. "I think I got the beat. So, all I have to do is make your soul 'bounce', right?"

"Yeah." Maka nodded and showed the dot-line-dot chart to Black*Star again. "This is the beat."

"By the way, what am I sending to Soul, exactly?"

"Kidd asked for the first book Soul ever read- ever truly read, I mean- I remember it was a fantasy book I really liked and showed to Soul."

"Why are we sending by way of small soul resonances?"

"He doesn't say."

"Hey..."

"What, Black*Star?"

"I suddenly remember reading a book. Hey, that's not my hand! It's you! Jesus, you read such boring books!"

"..."

"I don't want these memories! I want your studying memories! Take these back!"

"... Black*Star, just send the message, alright?!"

* * *

Kidd scribbled down the message onto a blank page. "The Armor Princess." He read aloud.

Something exploded in the back of Soul's mind as Kidd read aloud the title. "T-this memory..." Soul felt his legs fo numb and he slid down and slumped down on the floor. Ash rose up. "How could I forget?!"

"Soul? Soul!"

_"Soul? Soul! Come over here! This is a library! You're supposed to read, not sit in the corner all day long!" Maka grabbed his hand and pulled him from the corner. "I know you're only beginning, but I think you can read my favorite book of all time now!"_

_"You're also supposed to be quiet in a library." See how cool I am? I can make a witty remark in such a short time-_

_"Here!" Maka slammed a book onto the table. A librarian looked up at the thunk! and shushed them._

_Maka lowered her head. "Here. This is my favorite-est book of all time!"_

_Soul looked down at his hands, which held the big picture book. "The Armor Princess? It's a picture book. This is stupid. I can read just fine, you know."_

_"Prove it!"_

_The librarian shushed them again. Soul waved his hand. "Fine, fine. I'll read it. Just be quiet."_

_Maka nodded. "I'm going to use the bathroom. When I get back, you'd better to done!"_

_"Quiet!" _

_Maka grinned at Soul and walked off towards the bathroom._

_Soul opened the book. "Once upon a time, there was princess..."_

_Before long, he was unwillingly immersed in the book._

_"And because of that, the prince won over the armor princess' heart through bravery and courage... Well, that's never gonna happen in real life..." Soul looked up and sniffed. Some people were chattering and moving about. He heard people shriek from the bottom floor. "It smells like smoke?" His sharp nose twitched. _

_He leaped up, dropping the book. "Oi! Librarian, there's a fire, a fire!"_

_It was too late. Soul turned around. Smoke was billowing up to the ceiling by then, the dry books perfect combustible. Kids ran screaming out the double doors. Soul watched as the fire raced towards him for a second, paralyzed, until a librarian screamed and ran out... and then he snapped out of it and ran towards the stairs..._

_Only to stop in horror. Maka!_

_He turned around and looked towards the bathroom door. The fire and smoke covered it completely. Smoke made his eyes water. He didn't even hesitate._

_Everything be damned if his meister dies only a month after they paired up, goddammit, it's not cool!_

_He raced through the fire and the smoke, feeling hot flames licking his heels. He leaped over a particularity big one and slammed against the bathroom door._

_The metal doorknob burned his hand. He gritted his teeth and clasped his hand around it and turned with all his might._

_He leaped into the bathroom and slammed the door closed behind him._

_Maka turned around from the window. "Soul! What are you doing here?"_

_She was forcing the window open. "Uh... Saving you."_

_Maka grinned down at him. "Sure! Transform into a weapon, would you? The window isn't opening big enough for me to fit through."_

_Just as Soul began to transform, Maka turned away, her confident smile fading. She watched in the corner of her eyes as steel replaced flesh. Before he had came, she was terrified. Because, outside the window..._

_But she had to stay strong for his sake._

_Maka reached out and grabbed Soul's handle, swinging him with all her might to the windowpanes. And just as glass began to shatter, she climbed up as fast as she could._

_Fire was spreading into the bathroom from under the door._

_Maka paused for just the slightest second, shielding Soul from whatever was outside the window. Then..._

_She jumped._

_And Maka knew that Soul felt ten times the pain as barbed wire sliced into her skin._

* * *

Soul opened his eyes again.

Kidd looked down at him. "So?"

"A few years ago or so, just a long time ago, there was a fire in a library."

"I remember reading about it."

"Me and Maka were the only survivors on the third floor."

"What?"

"When the people raced to the stairs, it was already blocked. With hot metal and fire, crumbling plaster and weak stone. If I hadn't... Gone back, I wouldn't have made it."

"You went back to for Maka."

"Yeah."

"I remember reading about a man who found a girl hanging from a bunch of barbed wire, holding a scythe. She literally made sure that most of the barbed wire dug deep into her skin so she wouldn't drop down forty-five feet."

"That was Maka."

"The man said the scythe was screaming."

"That was me."

"So... The book?"

Soul sat up and nodded. "Give it to me."

Kidd turned around and picked up the light picture book. It weighed a thousand tons in his mind. He passed it over to Soul. Soul picked it up and looked at the cover.

"I think that eventually, over the years, I forgot the guilt. This probably will remind me."

"Maka doesn't blame you."

"She saved me twice."

"You've saved her more times than either of you bothers to count." Kidd rubbed his forehead. "So, just open the damn book."

Soul flipped it open. Blood stained the pages. "Maka's blood..."

Kidd looked down at it. "I don't see any."

Soul blinked. "What does it look like to you?"

"An ordinary picture book."

"What does it say?"

"Well, just about a few paragraphs consisting of a short story about a princess who refused to wear anything but armor and therefore built a shield around her heart, and how the prince gained her trust and broke her introvert personality."

"Yeah, that's the story."

"What do you see?" Suddenly, Kidd saw a hint of red appear on the pages, eating up the fairy tale text. "Wait, I see some of it! What does it say?"

Blood spread across the pages. Kidd was beginning to see the characters. "No..."

Soul slammed the book shut. "Nothing, really. Just pages and pages and pages of the words 'it's all my fault,' written over and over again in Maka's blood." Soul grinned up at Kidd. "Great story, isn't it?"

His eyes didn't seem to match together as Soul bared his sharp teeth. Kidd knew something was wrong. "For all my Soul Studies, I think you're is acting too off for just a dose of guilt. Someone is messing with you, Soul! Snap out of it!"

Behind them, a little demon chuckled.

Kidd turned around in horror. "Crap!"

The little demon held up a box that Maka had described to him so well after the defeat of the Kishin. He waved his hands and the book flew to it. Blood dripped from the book and formed a key.

The demon locked the box with a click. He tossed the key into the air and it disappeared. A thick mist of blood hung heavy over the library, collecting and mixing with the dust.

"Soul has been tricked, Shinigami."

"It's just you left."

* * *

NOTE FROM ME:

So, I'm kinda taking a liberty here with the history of Maka and Soul. But, seriously, there's like this gigantic gap between the day they met and the present day of the manga. What the hell did they do between then and now?

And then, Maka's such a bookworm, so there's got to be a library she can access at all times.

And I just couldn't make a happy ending, either.

Sorry.

(This isn't the end but I wanna give credit to all you people out there for inspiration on the soul-memory-library-fire-barbed-wire section of this fanfiction.)

B.F.F.~ You the one who looked outside the window at the library and commented on the barbed wire, remember? And then you the book-hater who said that books are good for combustible, and then said that it would be cool if you saved a girl from a fire at the library, since you had (and still have) a thing for nerdy girls you perv.

Semi-Part-Time Editor (a.k.a. the friend who found out I was publishing a fanfiction in the first place)~ You suck at finding out grammar mistakes but really great at finding inconsistencies in the plot. And you were the one who said you wanted to find out something about Soul and Maka's past, right? Here it is!

The Researcher, Alice (the only person who allowed his/her name to be published only 'cause it's a common one)~ Is there anything you _don't_ know about Soul Eater or Soul Eater Not!? You're like the guy who I just turned to if Wikia didn't have the answers. Like seriously, I wasn't sure what size bra Liz was and you and me just sat there for an hour shuffling through pictures and comparing the boob sizes.

It was purely for information.

Thanks to you three- and anyone else I didn't mention but asked to read over and tell me if it sucked. (Cousin, Friend who is crazy about Naruto- you know who you are, and Sister, and many many more.)

Alright, credits for the Soul and Library Fire chapter are done, something's gonna turn up in the next chapter. Hopefully, it won't make you smash the computer screen in frustration and its crappiness.

Please review!


	10. Chapter 10

Kidd glanced over to the little demon. He held out his hand, fumbled around behind his back, and slid the bottle of cool, thick-looking liquid down into his arms.

"Soul is in that box."

The demon chuckled. "Oh, yes, and there is nothing he can do to escape."

Kidd glared at the box, which was covered in marks and ink, little stickers and notes. The heat intensified. "I should have never let him read the bane of his soul without protection."

The demon tossed the box from one hand to the other. Kidd could hear Soul screaming inside.

"You wouldn't do all this just to take over Soul's body."

"What makes you do that? I would very much so like a body of my own."

Kidd felt sweat slide down his back. The bottle of frost was sending up cool breaths up to his face, but the heat on his back was blistering. "This body can't hold out much long like this. Even if you stop, there may be long-term damage. You don't care for this body at all, do you?"

"Yes, yes." The Demon paused from his juggling trick with the box. His eyes narrowed in and saw straight through Kidd's soul. He grinned, his lips stretching to showcase a vast array of teeth.

"You're going to propose a trade."

"Oh, you are so much better than I have ever hoped." The demon was laughing. The box's metal should be melting by this point, but it wasn't- only Soul's shouts from inside proves that heat effects it.

"Continue." The bottle that Kidd was holding felt almost warm.

"You see..."

The heat was beyond bearing by now.

"I could do so much better in the body of a Shinigami's son."

* * *

_Stop! Stop this madness- stop the barbed wire, don't let it touch your skin again! I forbid you! Goddamn! I want to it all to stop- I want you to stop!_

_JUST KILL ME NOW!_

_Twisted metal._

_Curved blades, glittering silver. A maze of gleaming metal, of jagged wire, of blood. Your wrists are a mess of what are supposed to be under your skin._

_KILL ME NOW!_

_Blood and rust._

_Needles digging into your skin, slicing into your bones as you save someone you've only met for a month from a forty feet fall. You want them to hold on to you. Keep from falling._

_I CAN'T TAKE THE GUILT!_

_THE GUILT!_

_THE GUILT!_

_THE GUILT!_

_Suicidal hanging._

_You're killing him, you know._

_Blood slides down her arms freely, like water. Her skirt is fine save for a few burn marks but her shirt is ripped and stained beyond recognition._

_Your hair is being dyed red. I can't see your face. I can't any life you have left. You chest is moving slightly. Water is dripping down your face._

_I can see your bones._

_Your muscles._

_Your tendons._

_Your veins._

_They're slowly stopping their pulse._

_Scream._

* * *

"MAAAKA!"

Soul felt two hands grab his arms. One was Black*Star's, and he was cracking Soul's wrist bones. The other hand was Maka's, and she was gripping his hand tightly, her hands subconsciously signaling her stress.

He didn't mind.

At least, he minded less than the fact that Black*Star was going to make his handwriting even more unreadable. "Gah! Let me go!"

Kidd pressed a cold hand against Soul's head. "You've finally gotten out."

Maka glared at Soul, worry flashing over her face but it was quickly replaced by anger. "Yeah! Kidd got out an hour ago!"

Soul glanced outside, The moon was high and the sky was black. The night air was chilly. His fever was gone. He felt better than he had ever felt before. And yet he felt dry and empty. Powerless.

His brain was pounding.

His mouth was coppery.

And his senses were afire with the scent of blood.

"God, it's like someone just took out all the bad stuff in me. Kidd, what did you do? The last thing I knew was that I was in the box."

Kidd shrugged. "I just broke the box, that's all. And left."

Something in the back of Soul's mind lit up. "Really? That's all-"

"I have to go. See you tomorrow." Soul, Maka, and Black*Star watched as Kidd hurriedly exited until they got distracted again- by Black*Star's strangling of Soul's neck.

Kidd managed to walk out of there without collapsing. He leaned against the wall. The world was spinning. "Black blood... I didn't know it was so strong... How did Soul... He must have had a special resistance..."

Kidd coughed. He would have liked to see black blood on his hand, but he came up with nothing. His body could not eject the liquid.

Black*Star and Maka had been staring and inspecting him for an hour. It was all he could do to get them off his back.

"I had to do it... Or else Soul would have died... I can... Deal with it."

Kidd shakily stood up again and stumbled towards his room. His shadow trailed behind him.

Blood red.

* * *

Soul felt Maka's fingers lightly touch his neck. Her arm was on his chest, right over the scar. The scar wasn't itchy and hot like it was before.

Fine, because Maka's arm was over it, it was feeling a bit warm but that was all.

She had let him come back to their room after he convinced her he was perfectly fine with twenty push ups. Frankly, he was surprised that he could do them all with ease. Without the scar throbbing and stinging.

She called the top bunk because she was afraid that he'd thrash around and break it. And yet, he had been sleeping deeply and calmly when she had a nightmare that left her crying and frantic for proof that he was alive.

And so, she climbed down half-asleep and plopped down, muttering that she was there to make sure he didn't fall off the bed.

She dumped all the blankets over him although it was a chilly night and she wore next to nothing.

Soul shifted most of them over to her after she fell asleep. Maka's shivering ceased.

"Jeez, if you wanted to come down then don't take up all the space."

She was wearing his sports jersey and a pair of shorts. He didn't know what color the shorts was, but Soul knew his jersey was red.

Blood red.

His head suddenly throbbed. "If Kidd wanted me to heal from the burn... Then he would have to take the black blood... Is there a box or bottle to contain black blood? He could have given it to Crona, but he was in my soul, so... Then... He had to take it and..."

Something akin to lightning flashed in the back of his mind.

_"I, Death the Kidd, take unto my body this black blood!"_

"And give it another host."

Soul felt his heart plummet.

Ice ran up his arms and legs.

The door slammed open, splintering against the wall. Black*Star ran in.

Soul felt Maka get up behind him.

His heart was thumping too loud for him to hear Black*Star's words, but the look on Maka's face proved to him what he thought had happened.

"Kidd has gone mad!"

* * *

Wind blew across the open field. The moon was high. Blood dripped from its teeth. Something interesting was happening down there.

Kidd was standing in the middle of the field. Maka was holding Soul swung over her shoulder casually fifty meters away from him. But her face was worried and her hand was tense. Black*Star was standing next to Tsubaki, ready to activate Uncanny Sword form.

Liz and Patty were closest to Kidd. Liz looked as if she was about to break. Patty had her head down. Her hat was covering her eyes.

Farthest from Kidd, was Crona twenty meters from behind Maka. He had his head high up and lifted his nose into the air, and sniffed. "I smell the black blood..."

The last person of the loose circle around Kidd was Stein, sitting on his swivel chair next to Crona. He activated a loose ring around the crew, including himself. He lifted his head from back seat.

"Soul, the monster had transferred from you to Kidd."

Soul nodded.

"It was trap. It had been collecting power for months, only using a little at a time on you, so you didn't think it was that powerful, only something that made it painful to breathe once in a while."

Maka twitched. She had not been informed of this.

"So, Kidd didn't know its true power until it unleashed itself and took over."

Liz looked up. "How bad is it?"

Stein pointed to Kidd. "He is fighting. When he finally loses, the demon would be able to move without problem."

Tsubaki blinked. "And fight?"

"Yes. The demon would be able to use all of Kidd's abilities. He could even control Liz and Patty through Kidd's contract with them, like when Maka used black blood with Soul."

Black*Star tilted his head. "Hey, hey. When Maka went insane, she was mad scary... Does that mean...?"

They all looked back to Kidd, who had stopped twitching.

Kidd lifted his head. His eyes glowed red. His head tilted back, knees bent and shoulders cracking and he laughed softly to the moon.

And then he screamed.

Stein twisted around his swivel chair. Crona curled up in the corner of the Soul Perimeter. His head was shaking, his hands were frantically twitching on top of his head, trying to cover all of it. He knew the scream of the Black Blood intimately.

Stein intensified the Soul Perimeter. "This will keep him inside, and I can keep this up for a long time. One, please do not touch it. Two, I will not be able to help you because I'll be holding him in and this field up."

"Remember when Maka went insane? Well, she _used_ the black blood and controlled it to an extent. But here, Kidd has completely lost it." Stein poured more power into into the barrier. Golden light crackled. Then, he stopped and looked at the kids again.

"In this, with Kidd's body... He might even be able to defeat-"

Black*Star cracked his knuckles. "Hey, hey. I'm still here. And I've been dying for a good fight. He can try and beat me, but I won't hold back! Ha! This will be fun!"

Tsubaki transformed and flipped into his hands. Silver shone. "Please, remember that it's still Kidd's body. You have to make sure to keep him in one piece."

Black*Star blinked. "Damn. The guy is powerful. I can't hold back, if I do-"

Maka stepped down from the rock she had been crouching on and swung Soul in front of her. "You don't have to. All you have to do is beat him up and hold him down."

The blade of Soul's Genie Hunter was a gleaming black from the night's reflection on its crystal surface.

Crona's hand morphed into a blade, dripping with blood that hardened as he walked towards Kidd.

Black*Star grinned and he tossed Tsubaki into the air.

She came back down as the Uncanny Sword.

"Time to take the Mini-Shinigami back."


	11. Chapter 11

Nearly sixty thousand miles of blood arteries inside of me and they are turning black.

Nearly twenty-five trillion blood cells inside of me and they are one by one darkening.

Nearly ten pints of blood inside of me.

And one drop doesn't belong there.

And it's taking over.

* * *

Death the Kidd clapped his hands twice.

Liz and Patty immediately transformed and flew into his hands. He flipped them over twice and placed his pinkies at the trigger where it had been for countless times. The metal was worn smooth.

He charged them up. The soul resonance light flickered from their souls.

The light was no longer green.

Maka stood up straight. The blade of Soul's Genie Hunter flashed with as he listened for a connection with Liz and Patty. He tapped a few notes into his piano and listened at the empty echo. "God be damned if I actually miss that little demon..."

Black blood dripped out of Liz and Patty's barrel. Black*Star heard two voices and one scream. "I've had enough of this!" _That was enough time for Kidd to break free! Time to act!_

He ran towards Kidd, arms back and the Uncanny Sword unsheathed. Kidd tilted his head enough to make Maka blink twice and listen for a crack.

Kidd's eyes slid towards Black*Star. They were deep, black orbs. His lips twitched.

Kidd's hands carelessly lifted up and he fired twice without aiming. Maka could see everything enfold but she couldn't move a muscle. Two black bullets slid out of the barrels.

And they exploded.

Black substances slid to Black*Star and before he could blink it solidified over him and Tsubaki and covered them completely. Black liquid squelched. Inside, a small gurgling sound echoed, and stopped.

Smoke hissed from the thrashing lump. And in a moment, the thrashing stopped completely.

Maka didn't- couldn't make a single sound, except for one. Soul cursed.

Their soul resonance crumpled. ".. B-Black*Star?"

Kidd tilted his head again to the other direction, following the small voice, looked at Maka, and chuckled. "This body... Is really a blessing, you know that, Maka?" He started to walk towards them, slowly, awkwardly. "It is much, _much_ stronger than yours."

Crona trembled. He lurched up, holding his sword high. "Oi, you! K-Kidd! Stop! Don't come near Maka! Don't take another step-"

Kidd stopped and snickered at Crona. "Oh, yes. My master. The black blood's producer. Would you like me to bow?"

"I want to you let Kidd-"

Kidd raised his arm and his pinkie twitched, just about to pull the trigger...

Maka swung Soul up and slammed him down as Genie Hunter right over Kidd. She could see what was going to happen. She could see herself slicing through his arm and pulling the black blood away from it. She could do it, it was possible. With the Genie Hunter-

The scythe dug into Kidd's arm and black blood spurted out- only to harden. Maka had only began to process this as Kidd lifted up his right arm and sent her flying.

She hit the Soul Perimeter and felt shocks run over her entire body. Lightning flashed in her eyes. She choked.

Her soul resonance broke and Soul's piano keys toasted his fingers. "Maka! What happened?!"

She could feel the last of her power draining out. The shocks fizzled. "Why... Why didn't the black blood disappear? Why did I hit Kidd physically but not chase the evil out of him? It worked on Medusa! Why-"

"Maka, get your shit together!" Thunder crackled in the back of her mind. Stein was there, right there, right outside the Soul Perimeter. Spirit was not present and he had no partner, and to close the Perimeter now was to let the Black Blood free. "Kidd's right behind-"

"Gahk!" Maka spat out blood. The shocks on her soul died out. Kidd punched Maka's abdomen with Liz's barrel again. "Oi~iii, you aren't gonna give up just like that, are you? This..." He tossed Maka into the air and fired off a few regular explosive bullets, playing around with her. "Isn't half over yet."

Bullets pinged off of Soul's metal, but a few made their way through and detonated on Maka's skin, burning her. She gritted her teeth. "Kidd..."

"I'm sorry."

She flipped around, changed Soul back into the Genie hunter in a split second, and came down hard. Shoving the Scythe right into and though Kidd's chest.

And for a moment it seemed as if Kidd's eyes widened a little, as if she got an edge in the fight.

And for the next few moments all Maka remembered was being blasted with multiple bullets. Kidd tilted his head back and laughed. He fired off his Locator bullets, not even bothering to aim, just listening to Maka's scream as they hit. He poked Patty through the gash in his chest and fired a bullet through himself.

It blasted a rock behind him to pieces.

"What did you think that would achieve, _Maka_?" The blood in his chest hardened. "I'm the son of Death, and then I've got blood with morphing abilities. What could possibly be done by running me clean through?" He pulled his arm right back out of the hole. Chunks of blood tumbled down and withered the grass.

Then he sobered up and stumbled towards Maka. He juggled Liz and Patty with his hands. He leaned down to Maka, who was spread out on a patch of disturbed dirt and ripped up grass, choking and three meters away from her weapon. "Even so, it is very surprising for you to take a hand against your dear friend."

For a moment it seemed as if she was going to crawl towards Soul, but then she stopped getting up. Instead, Maka lifted her hand up... And slapped Kidd's left cheek _hard_. "Kidd! Snap out of it, goddammit! You got a red mark on your left cheek now, get out of that black blood and make me pissed off enough to slap the other cheek!"

Kidd snickered. "Ah, you thought it would kick him into action, eh? Ah, hope. Did you really think for a moment..." He grabbed Maka's tie, lifted her up and tossed her to the Perimeter, and watched as the shocks started again. He looked over to Stein. "Oi, one of your kids is being totaled over here. Aren't you gonna close the Perimeter so she doesn't die?"

"Let me out, Stein!"

Stein folded his arms and looked on impassively. Smoke spiraled out of his mouth as he took in another breath and tossed the cigarette to the ground. "I wouldn't do that right now. If I let you out, you'd be able to run."

Kidd grinned, running a hand through his hand with a gun and messing his bangs up. "You can't hold that Perimeter up forever, you gray-haired oldie. You must be going blind. I'm the one beating up all your crappy students, why would I run-"

Black*Star smashed Tsubaki into Kidd's noggin with a loud _crack_. As Kidd, or whoever was in him, toppled into unconsciousness, Black*Star peeled off the rest of the hardened blood. "God, this is like cement."

He looked behind him, where Crona was helping Maka up. "Yo, you two okay?"

Maka felt like both her body and soul had been put through a strainer. "What happened? Kidd? Soul?"

In a flash, Soul was back in human form. He turned his arm into a flat metal spade and scooped Maka up. "Crona took me away from you for a second and cut Black Star free."

"... Kidd?"

"We knocked him unconscious. Maybe he'll be in control once he comes around."

Maka tried to push herself up. "Enter his soul... Get the blood out..."

Soul lifted her up some more and started to walk towards the building. The Soul Perimeter shimmered gold as it fell down. Black*Star lifted Kidd, Patty, and Liz with no problem and effort, while Crona and Tsubaki supported each other as they stumbled towards Shibusen.

"Shhh, I'll take it from here, meister."

* * *

Stein tightened his screw. He closed his connection with Kidd's soul and looked up at the people in front of him- the Shibusen Soul Eater team. "He's still trapped."

There were three beds, each with a person in it. Black*Star cursed. Soul frowned, Maka grimaced, and Tsubaki fidgeted. Crona sat in the corner, shivering.

"I believe that if we send a team into Kidd's soul, get him out and the black blood into Crona where it belongs... Then Liz and Patty might also wake up."

Black*Star slammed a fist into a nearby table. "Damn it! I knew you were going to say that! I hate this sort of shit- I'm no good at it! What the hell can I do here if I can't make my way into a person's soul?!"

Soul placed a firm hand on Black*Star's left shoulder. Tsubaki placed a firm hand on his right shoulder as well, over his star tattoo. "We're going to research black blood."

Stein nodded and turned to the two individuals behind him, one heavily bandaged and ready for action, one who sat shivering and yet was mostly unscathed.

"So that only leaves two..."

"The two who are both meister and weapon."


	12. Chapter 12

Soul and Tsubaki shuffled through piles of paper while Black*Star bench lifted a dozen of the largest medical books they could find. Soul scoured books for any mention of black blood while Tsubaki searched for a cure for it. Soul hunted the origin of the black blood while Tsubaki looked for a way to control it.

Black*Star ran about cartwheeling and back flipping and carried the heaviest of books without effort.

After thirty minutes all three were exhausted. Soul brushed dust off another book and Tsubaki wiped her forehead. Black*Star sat down and set his head down on the table. "I think I've found my only weakness."

Soul looked up. "Really?" Tsubaki raised an eyebrow and sent Soul a look.

Black*Star nodded to the wood of the table. "Yes, isn't hard to believe that I have a weakness?"

"Actually... No-"

"I can't enter a soul."

"Yeah-"

"I don't like this emotional stuff. I'm only good with the bad guys who can be beaten up."

"Um, about that-"

"Yes, I know. Isn't it hard to accept that your great hero has a weakness?"

"Actually... No."

"What? Are you saying that not being able to enter souls is not a weakness-?"

"Are you sure that's your _only_ weakness?" Soul looked at Black*Star, annoyed. "I can think of a few more."

Black*Star lifted his head from the desk. "Eeeeh?! I have more?!" Tsubaki winced and nodded. He blinked. "Whaaa?"

Tsubaki held up three fingers. "You can't read, you can't dance at all that well, your manners are pretty much nonexistent..."

Soul held up two hands and started counting down. "You're insensitive to others, you laugh too much and too loud when it's solemn, you have no clue what's going on around you, and your only birthday present is an autograph."

"What's wrong with-"

"AND you easily get lost, you don't plan, I've never seen you study successfully, Maka thinks you should bathe more- you always happen to be around when Tsubaki is bathing, you walk around nude or half-dressed, and you're annoyingly cheerful."

"Wait a moment."

Tsubaki and Soul looked at him, looked at each other, and then looked back at him, surprised. "What? I think all of those were true."

Black*Star glared at Soul. "I know how to read, dumbass!"

Short pause.

Soul cleared his throat and Tsubaki thought back to what she had said and winced.

Soul picked up a book and handed Black*Star it, and and flipped it open, pointing at a spot on the pages. "What does this say?"

Black*Star stared at the pages for a long moment. Soul sighed and set it down in front of him. "I'll give you some time."

He handed Tsubaki another book and opened one for himself. Fifteen minutes later he looked up to where Black*Star was still examining the book confusedly.

He nudged Tsubaki.

"Oi. When is he gonna realize I gave it to him upside down?"

* * *

Maka took one of Kidd's limp hands and handed it to Crona. Then, she grabbed the other hand. She looked up at Stein and nodded.

"Soul Resonance!"

...

_"I just slapped your left cheek, Kidd! Snap out of it! Make me slap the other one!"_

_..._

_"... Maka?"_

_I feel light... No, I feel dark. Black dark. I feel weightless. I am floating but I'm not going anywhere. __I can't feel my stomach. Which way is up? Which way is down? __Is my head... Up? Or what? __I am confusing myself._

_It feels like water but I am completely dry. __Am I rotating? __Did I just say something? __What did I just say?_

_It does not matter. __I forgot... __"Kiddo-kun! Stop! I don't like this!"_

_"... Patty?"_

_"Kidd, get your shit up! You know firing this bullet will take more than you can go through in one day! I can't allow you to fire this at Black*Star! I won't-"_

_"... Liz?"_

_"We will research black blood..."_

_"... Black blood? Is that... Soul's voice?"_

_Who's Soul?_

_..._

_"Soul Resonance!"_

_Kidd felt something snap and then connect with something else inside of him. That pulsing orb. "My... Soul."_

_The other pulsing orb._

_At the other end of the line._

_His eyes fluttered open._

_"Maka!"_

* * *

Maka opened her eyes. She looked at the object next to her. "Stein said this might happen."

She picked up the tiny glass jar. "Because we don't want any contact with more black blood... You've changed into a container to hold Kidd's black blood instead." She held it up. "You're a very cute little jar, Crona."

The glass of the jar heated up and for a second the glass reflected pink light and heated up.

Maka tucked it into her pocket and smoothed down her cloak. She didn't have any bandages, and every wound she had in real life didn't show up here. She turned around and surveyed her surroundings. "I remember this. Soul pulled me out of this when he wanted to release me from going insane."

A vast sea spread out beneath her feet. It was dark and opaque and it reflected her own, pale and scared face back to her.

She put a hand down on the surface and applied a little force. To her surprise, it let her in easily. But as soon she had one hand in, it began to feel numb and as if something was being pulled from inside of her. She, out of reflex, pulled it out. She looked down at the 'water'.

"This sucks your soul out."

Crona's tiny little jar tinkled.

"Soul ignored this, reached out and forced an entire arm through and pulled me out."

Crona was silent.

Maka stood up once more, pausing to let herself settle. Having her soul being tugged out of herself was like peeling off an inner skin. It did not feel good. It did not feel right. "I have to find Kidd."

She looked around, seeing nothing but ripples that appeared from nothing and small waves. "Where is he?"

She closed her eyes.

There was a line. It was connecting from her to Kidd. Find what was at the other end of the line.

Maka opened her eyes.

And started walking.

* * *

Soul could feel Maka going farther and farther away from him. He didn't like it. If he had his way he'd be right next to her, wrapping music notes together and creating a string to keep them both tied down and tied together.

He knew that she was also getting closer and closer to Kidd.

So he couldn't stop her now.

Soul cracked open another book. Then a wisp of an idea sidled up into his mind. He looked up at Tsubaki. "Come to think of it, we haven't seen Ragnarok in a long time now."

Tsubaki nodded. "Too long."

"You don't think...?" Something rang in the back of his mind.

Soul felt like someone had punched him in the stomach.

He dropped his book with a dull _thud_. _If Ragnarok had disappeared because the black blood in Soul needed more power, then... What was the power going to be used for? Surely if all the power was used up in the black blood then they would have to let Kidd go... Was there, possibly a way to siphon Kidd's power and use it as their own?_

_And so was there importance in the fact that it specifically targeted a Shinigami?_ Tsubaki's eyes furrowed.

"Yeah..." We've been looking at this all wrong!

Tsubaki and Soul got up and brushed their books away, leaping off their chairs and running out the door, fear gripping their hearts and making it thump two hundred times a minute.

Five minutes later, they were already in another section of the library, flipping through as many books as they could find about Shinigamis and amount of power they had- and how it could be harnessed.

Not realizing they had left someone behind.

* * *

Black*Star stared intently at the book in front of him. "These characters all look so familiar, why don't they make sense?!"

He stared at it for a longer and more intense moment, realization lurking an inch in front of his face.

And then he scowled and knocked the book away, flipped onto his stomach and did thirty perfect push ups without breaking sweat or losing his breath.

Then he got up again and grabbed the book. He glanced at where Soul and Tsubaki used to sit. "What the fuck is wrong with this book that you gave me, motherfucker...?!"

The library section was empty. Books were strewn all around and some were still open, but no one was there.

"EEEEH? WHERE DID THEY GOOO?!"


End file.
